Pink Tiles
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: Pre-TRC. 'The difference between a human and any other animal is their ability to wish for their own death, or for another already dead to return to them. For all others, there is only the living, and being alive. And as such things as 'pleasure' are very different to them than to us.'


**A/N:** Written for the fanfic_50 challenge. Also posted on lj (link to journal on profile).

BTW, this is Subaru/Kamui…but not exactly slash. You might figure it out from this chapter. You might not. It's my reason why humans can never become full-fledged vampires…amongst other things. There's also Subaru/Seishirou…one of CLAMP's soulmates and therefore a tad unavoidable, but this is trc, not tb/x. And since Subaru's not human, again not exactly slash. Technicalities. It'll make sense soon enough if it doesn't already.

Since I've got nothing up for trc, I'm just posting the groups of five drabbles as I finish them. Hopefully that'll give me some feedback. :)

* * *

_**Pink Tiles**_

* * *

**001. Finish**

Kamui knew from the moment his twin met that human that things were going to end badly. There was no helping it; _Homo sapiens_ were a vain and arrogant species and Seishirou, despite how he pretended to be contrary, was no exception.

That wasn't the crux of the matter however; Kamui to smell the blood on him. Ironic, as Subaru who was strictly the older and more sensitive vampire of the pair, could not. But Kamui could: blood, magic far unlike their own abilities…and the stench of lies.

Humans were fools to think it was only the legendary birds of fire or stone – the Phoenix and the Sphinx they were called in _their_ tongue – that could sniff the truth out of their kind. Any animal save the humans were capable of it…for if one dove into the heart of the matter they would find that the species that thought themselves superior to others were ultimately within the same kingdom, and slave to the same rules. They had simply evolved differently, grown differently…

But in a way, so had all species, all races that existed. Grown from a common stemmed, branched out and eventually a part of the main trunk, unable to be erased from the chronicles of the world.

Individuals however were a different story, and he dearly wished Subaru would leave the human out of his own chronicle.

There was something about Seishirou though that made Subaru blind. Something that stoppered his nose so the copper scent never reached his brain. Something that dulled the sharp hearing so the sweet honey teased his earlobes and tickled his ears.

And Seishirou played along, in a way that made Kamui's blood boil with rage. It was a bother as much as it was a pain as well, because that meant he had to feed more to replenish it. The normal reproductive processes couldn't handle the stress and the reserves only kicked in after a certain percentage was lost.

And Seishirou ignored it all; if he saw the blue eyes, tinted yellow on many an occasion, he reacted not. Instead, he laughed and continued his little game pulling on Subaru's heartstrings as the other followed as if in a hypnotic dream.

Kamui knew he should act, should do _something_, before it crumbled, but something stopped him. Not Seishirou – he couldn't care less for that bastard – but his twin. Subaru. The colour in his cheeks, the extra candle of light which flickered in his eyes…

There was something there that made him…more alive than even he, his own brother, had ever seen him.

And he had to admit that made him bitter. Jealous. Territorial.

And so he waited, hoping that he was mistaken, that it was those aversions feeding the trepidation he felt…

And the end of it all came far too soon for him to act.

* * *

**002. Nothing**

Subaru faced his twin, or rather, he simply looked at him. The term "faced" would coin a degree of will he lacked. "Looking" on the other hand was a purely passive process, but even that seemed too precise; it implied he was seeing something. Focusing on something.

If he could be said to be focusing on something, it was not something that could be seen. Not something that existed in the physical world: they world they lived in, but something that eluded him in the experience his many years of life contained and the primate instincts that were buried into the very makeup of his form.

If he could be said to be focusing on something, it was something he had lost. Something that had been gone – ripped apart, destroyed – to never return. Something intangible, something so subtly different to any other sensation ever experienced that the difference itself had only been highlighted in the instance its removal occurred.

'Subaru?'

Worry. Worry trembled, vibrated, attempted to latch onto some current to be carried downstream but failing in such an endeavour. His own emotions, his own scent was too strong; it formed a protective – possessive – blanket about his frame. The connection was severed, cables unplugged. Or a circuit-breaker had gone off.

Humans had interesting words and analogies to describe the intricacies of life.

His own emotions surged, the balancing force absent as Kamui grappled with the outside of a wall and Subaru within. Fear, pain – and a multitude of things he couldn't, not knowing enough about the humans despite…_that_, to describe.

The scent was strong enough to repulse even him. The prospect of staying where that stench would grow, engrave, linger, remind…

'Let us leave.' A pleading mewl, a swelling desperation removing rationale and driving instinct alone…

And Kamui agreed without complaint.

* * *

**003. Alone**

The world appeared superficially a small and cramped place, but in truth it was very easy to be alone. Maybe it was because very living being within it was selfish; the instinct to survive was primitive over all else. Humans' notions of suicide and sacrifice were, in Kamui's opinion, rubbish. Accidents: rash actions taken and the consequence hitting at a point wherein it was too late to retract. Decisions taken without full thought and regretted when it was too late.

Not one of those stories showed someone living without regret. The dead _could_ not regret; they were dead. The living: those who, due to "luck", survived, somehow found themselves on the path of redemption. Within that at least was concrete evidence of animal instinct, ignored in the presumed superiority of their own race.

Humans were simply another type of animal, however their concept of "pets" and "toys" were particularly disgusting.

He had had a feeling, from the first time he met Seishirou, that the man was no different in that aspect. _They,_ the vampire twins, were not human, and therefore beneath him and his race. The front was a pretence; it had to be, and that – _that_ – proved it.

He had made no home in their place of refuge, but Subaru wanted to leave it behind. Subaru, who had been content to stay no matter what memories embedded themselves into the four walls they resided within.

Or had resided in. For there was no longer a reason to remain, and all the more reason to leave…so long as Subaru was at his side, and safe.

And once his twin was taken care of, a certain human would be getting his just reward the next time their paths crossed. He wished though – albeit somewhat reluctantly – that they would never cross, because that would hurt Subaru and Kamui had no desire to hurt his twin.

* * *

**004. Desperate**

Requesting Yuuko's aid was a desperate move, but it was unavoidable. Subaru was…well, Kamui wasn't really sure _what_ was going on with Subaru, only that Seishirou had hurt him somehow, and Subaru like with all things was trying to avoid the problem altogether as opposed to facing it and ripping it to threads. And Kamui, regrettably, had to admit that the world indeed _was_ a small place.

Outside the four walls in which they had lived, they were too different. Too obvious. Too vulnerable. For their manner of clothes marked them as nobility and Kamui's attitude affirmed the notion. In truth the image was more a guise than a reality; in that world, they were only stragglers looking for a place and the secluded life raised the least questions.

Feeding was a little more problematic due to the absence of 'E', or prey. But it was an unavoidable necessity, and when one's preferred manner of dining was absent one was forced to resort to less welcome measures. Small animals, those with the most primitive instincts, worked best but they could feed very little before putting their lives in jeopardy. It had to be done sometimes, in need, but during the nine good months of the year there were mice in plenty to be found in the small forest and their ability to feel was minimal enough to not cause major problems.

Those animals with more developed brains and higher order thinking processes were another story; one would think the same applied to E, but there was something in the magic that created such beings that removed such things from the body, leaving it a machine directed only by an outside will or an implanted soul.

But outside, things were different, and they would soon be exposed, and hunted, and hurt…

And so he had led his brother to the little shop tucked into a corner of the alley. And the Witch, looking quite amused at seeing them.

'It seems the two of you have new wishes,' she commented, removing the pipe and letting a thin ribbon of smoke waft through parted lips.

'One new wish,' Kamui responded, tone even. 'We wish to leave.' His tone implied more, and Yuuko nodded in understanding to that.

'Really?' The witch raised an eyebrow before turning to the other.

'We wish to leave,' Subaru parroted tonelessly.

'Really?' Yuuko repeated. When nothing changed, she shrugged. 'It'll cost you both.'

'Cost us what?' Kamui asked wearily. The last time, when she had deposited them in the world they were now in, she had taken the last mementos of their home.

Yuuko simply smiled, reaching beneath her chair to extract two pendants, silver and gleaming bright. Kamui's blue eyes widened in shock; Subaru remained impassive.

'These are not the same,' she said in reply to the stir she created. 'The design is subtly different, and the metal is not from your world but rather from somewhere else. That metal contains infused magic which will allow the two of you to cross dimensions at will. There is no way of controlling where you will end up however, and each time you will have to wait a few weeks for the energy to replenish itself. Even then, both pendants must combine to provide the necessary energy for this transfer.'

'Is that our price?' Somehow that sounded too easy.

'Those are simply the limitations of your wish,' came the reply. 'For there are things with which even I cannot interfere. Your individual prices are things you will discover at a later date.'

And she held the pendants out to them.

* * *

**005. Down**

The pendants hung over their chests, nestling into the white cloth. Kamui resisted the urge to fiddle with it; Subaru's simply dangled down, a bit of slack chain swinging in the soft wind. Neither of them knew where they were; neither of them bothered to find out.

Still, Kamui stood. Back straight, muscles tense and ears taut, waiting for the slightest alteration in sight, scent or sound that would speak of outside interference. Newly arrived, he had no knowledge about what was safe and what was not…and he wasn't taking any chances. Especially not with Subaru…

Subaru didn't move either, simply hunched over where he sat upon a rock. The new world was cold. Dark. Almost depressing; he could smell it where he sat, even so far from human contact…if his ears were not mistaken.

It wasn't as though he was straining himself though; it was silent enough, and new smells would drown the old.

Only Kamui would not drown. Because Kamui stood behind him, there even in his own foolishness.


End file.
